Towson, MD – 12-seed Hofstra's run in the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Championship came to an unfortunate end as the Pride suffered a 74-64 defeat in the Quarterfinals to four-seed William & Mary at SECU Arena Friday afternoon.
Hofstra ends its 2022-23 season with an overall record of 12-20, and William & Mary improves to 18-12 as the Tribe advances to the CAA Championship Semifinals for the first time since 2017.
Brandy Thomas led all players in the scorebook with 23 points while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Sorelle Ineza finished with 17 points against the Tribe, and
Emma Von Essen scored 13 points for Hofstra.
Zyheima Swint pulled down eight rebounds and scored seven points, and
Ally Knights dished out five assists.
Trailing 4-2 three minutes into the opening quarter, Hofstra went on an 8-0 run lasting 3:04 to jump out to a 10-4 lead with 3:04 left in the quarter. Hofstra's lead grew to eight on a step-back three-pointer with 27 seconds left on the clock, and the Pride carried a 15-7 lead over the Tribe into the second quarter.
William & Mary opened the second quarter with a three-point play by Sydney Wagner to cut Hofstra's lead to five, but Von Essen responded with a three to put the lead back to eight at the 7:42 mark. The Tribe pulled to within three with a 5-0 run lasting until 3:17, when Von Essen knocked down her third three of the afternoon. William & Mary moved in front with seven straight points, and they upped their lead to five with another four points to put the score at 26-21 in favor of the Tribe.
The third quarter was a scoring showcase for both teams, as the Pride and the Tribe combined for more points in the third quarter (50) than the entire first half combined (47). William & Mary upped its lead to 10 points with a 6-1 run before Thomas knocked down her first field goal of the game on a three-pointer at 7:50, and she hit a second consecutive three 40 seconds later to put the score at 34-28. After Thomas converted a pair of free throws to make it a seven-point game with 6:31 remaining in the quarter, the Tribe went on a 15-7 run to lead by 16 with 2:54 left on the clock. Hofstra made it an 11-point deficit going into the fourth quarter with two Thomas free throws, a Von Essen three, and a driving layup by Ineza.
Hofstra cut the William & Mary lead to nine with 7:26 to go on a trio of layups by Thomas, Swint, and
Alarice Gooden, but Rebekah Frisby-Smith hit a three at 6:44 to put the Tribe back ahead by double-digits. Thomas knocked down a contested layup and converted the ensuing free throw to make it a nine-point game following the media timeout at the 6:20 mark, and Thomas and Swint converted layups to bring the Pride to within seven of the Tribe, but William & Mary kept them at bay with timely baskets, eliminating Hofstra from its postseason at the final buzzer.
Sydney Wagner led William & Mary with 20 points, while Riley Casey finished with 19 points, and Frisby-Smith scored 10 points. Bre Bellamy led William & Mary players with 10 rebounds.
NOTES:
-Hofstra finishes with double-digit wins for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
-Thomas finishes her Hofstra career with 436 points and 262 rebounds, and her collegiate career ends with 1,762 points and 1,044 rebounds.
-Hofstra outshot William & Mary, 42.4% to 37.1%, but William & Mary had a 43-32 edge in rebounding.
